Random thoughts

Sitting on an ATR 72 flying from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, Laos. It's early 7:35am. Our hotel wished us a goodbye and sent us off with a styrofoam breakfast of pastries and fruit. The new airport has a multi level roof design to make it look similar to a Buddhist Temple. At the airport departure area lots of Ryan and Alexander aged people with sleepless looks folded into the hard airport seats as only twenty something's can do. We order coffee and eat our croissants and bananas from the hotel. We give our  oranges to two Aussie girls who were splitting a cup of coffee. 

I decide that from now on we will buy a meal whenever possible for a traveler on a tight budget. I like talking to the kids who are on the road. They all have interesting stories. Today for example I spoke to a young man from Maryland who was in Laos with a group of students studying Loation health care practices. They were visiting clinics and hospitals. He and his group all from different universities in the US are based in Thailand. He goes home in December. 

The Monks were out collecting alms as we drove to the airport this morning. Tourists were firing flashes  as the photographed the ritual. It wasn't intended to become a tourist attraction. I get the feeling that if there was a Laos pavilion at Epcot it would include a saffron robed monk processions very morning. All the monks are very young. I wonder how many will stay in that life for life. 

Looking forward to our two days in Vientiane. Hard to believe it's been two weeks already. Seems like we were just in Hanoi. Weather so far has been perfect, no rain. I think that's about to change.